The roses of Louis Lens

We enter Vinkenhofstraat on the right and head towards the village center. In the square, the village pump stands out. It dates back to 1870 and was built to provide residents with drinking water. Centrally located is the church. Originally, it had an octagonal bell tower that resembled a 'pepper pot'. It was destroyed after World War I. The current tower dates from 1912, when the church was enlarged with a rectory and a town hall (to the right of the church). "The Our Lady Church is the oldest of the three villages that once stood in the Waver Forest: Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver, and Sint-Niklaas-Waver, the current Putte."

Behind the church, there is a rose garden. "That is a tribute to Louis Lens, a world-renowned rose grower. Louis learned the art of rose breeding from his father Victor, who won several awards with it. He succeeded in cultivating different varieties from a few roses. The Lens rose nursery was handed over in 1992 to the couple Rudy Velle and Ann Velle-Boudolf and relocated to Oudenburg in the Netherlands."

Sandra